For 60 years RainSoft has been treating, testing water around the world. During the last 16 years I have been the Dealer here in Ottawa, Ontario. We sell/service all RainSoft water systems: Water Softeners, Reverse Osmosis Systems, Whole House Carbon Filters, Chemical Free and Chemical Iron & Sulphur Removal Systems, Sediment Filters, UV Light Systems and MOST IMPORTANTLY PEACE OF MIND! I have an A+ rating with the BBB and have won the Consumers Choice Gold Awards for 5 years in a row. This is a family run business and we especially care about the water you and your family drink and live with. www.rainsoftofottawa.com

The following is a spectacular example of how music enhances photography. This video is accompanied by Il Divo and Celine Dion’s , “I Believe”. To fully appreciate Canada’s incredible beauty, watch the three videos in ‘FULL SCREEN’ MODE.

For all of our friends around the world the following YouTube video, “Tom Brokow Explains Canada to Americans”, is a great introduction to Canada ~ and I must admit that, although I have lived in Canada all my life, I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL BY WATCHING THIS VIDEO AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO EVERYONE!

AND LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST ~ this special video, “CANADA REGIONS – CANADIAN PERSPECTIVES CLASS”, has slides, videos and TEXT DESCRIPTIONS of the photographs ~ Beautiful video expressing Canada values and attitudes. What a majestic landscape and incredible people ~ the second largest country on earth.

SECOND:

Now that you’re incredibly ‘PUMPED’ about this GREAT COUNTRY of ours ~ get out with family, friends and neighbours to participate in all the ‘Canada Day’ activities that are offered in your communities – fellow Ottawans see the link at end of blog for what our city has to offer.

Your friends at Rainsoft Ottawa are very proud, thankful and blessed to be living in this spectacular country of ours ~ CANADA!

I received the following via e-mail (from my boss ~ a really great guy!) a few weeks ago and just found it again ~ so bizarre I have to share.

This really works ~ what amazing brains, cognitive and visual systems we humans have!!!

Follow the following steps to discover an amazing image ~

1) Stare at the red dot on the girls nose for a full 30 seconds.

2) Turn your eyes to a plain surface on your wall or ceiling.

3) Blink repeatedly and quickly.

Isn’t that the coolest thing!!!

Have fun with this and of course pass it along.

What you should see is a full color representation of the image as your retina/brain processes the negative image. Our visual system is constantly processing input and can fool us or create illusions from retinal or cortical processes…

Please visit webvision.med for the full explanation of how the human visual system works in a case like this ~ most interesting!

Please visit my 3 previous blogs on New York City’s Water Tanks for plenty of background information and lots of photographs:1) New York City‘s Water System – How Bizarre! – April 3, 2012, 2) New York City’s Water Tank Construction – Apr. 4, 2012 and 3) Word Above the Street’s, “The Water Tank Project – Apr. 5/12

Water Tank Project updates ~

1) The project is to last for twelve weeks during Summer 2013, and2) That the art work will be created off-site – artists participating in TWTP will donate original works of art, which will then be scanned and printed on vinyl material that will be installed on carefully selected tanks. These artist designed tanks will spark a global dialogue about the future of one of our most precious and endangered resources: WATER.

…”The latest in the trend is artist Tom Fruin‘s imaginatively transparent and colorful “Watertower” project, which he recently installed on a DUMBO rooftop. The piece, which opens this Thursday, June 7, maintains the proportions and size of a typical water tank, but has been rendered a glass tapestry of salvaged materials. Visible from Lower Manhattan, the sculpture is a De-Stijlesque jigsaw of upwards 1,000 polychromatic fragments of discarded and recycled Plexiglas Fruin collected from building sites all over the city. During the day, the sun sets the water tower ablaze, while at night, projection designer Jeff Sugg will illuminate the structure with a light show boogie woogie planned to play every nightfall throughout the year”

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ~ this is a mammoth and most worthwhile undertaking of Mary Jordan and Word Above the Street to raise global awareness about the future of one of our most precious and endangered resources: WATER.

To all you shutter bugs (camera buffs) out there, here is another opportunity for you to get out in nature to zoom in on the magnificent essence of nature’s animal kingdom.

Canadian Geographic is hosting the “Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year Competition”~ deadline ~12:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 4, 2012~ link to enter contest ~http://photoclub.canadiangeographic.ca/cg/Contests/wpy/Prizes.aspx~ Categories ~From the ground up, Things with wings, On the prowl, What’s in the water and Junior Photographers (kids 15 and under)~ Prizes ~too many to list here ~ click on the contest link above for a complete list ~ 500 cash prize, a Lowepro Slingshot 102 AW, a family membership to the Canadian Museum of Nature (value $99), a selection of Canadian Museum of Nature products ~ books, pens, cups and t-shirts, in an environmentally friendly bag ($50). Winning photos will also be published in the December 2012 issue of Canadian Geographic and receive a one-year subscription to Canadian Geographic ($30) and more…

Watching this YouTube video, “National Geographic’s Best Nature Photos Of The Year”, by DownUnderKid91 on Jun 2, 2009, should be all the inspiration you need to pack up your equipment and outdoor gear and head out into nature in search of your award winning ‘shoot and capture’ moment.

~ More inspiration for our aspiring “Award Winning” Photographers ~

Uploaded by izjustagirl on Jan 10, 2011 ~“Some photos from fellow Canadians & animal lovers from a photo competition that I am in; all amateur. The first pic is my entry, the last 4 belong to me also, used as filler. All credit goes to the respective photographers who have captured superb moments in time with some of Canada’s most beautiful & interesting critters. So many more wonderful pictures to be seen on the competition site.”

This video was taken the day after the storm “Dagmar” hit the shore. This storm caused a lot of damage in the area. The Atlantic Road was built in 1983-1989 and has become a very popular road for tourists visiting the north-west coast of Norway.

~ Road: Fv. 64 between Vevang in the municipality of Eide and Kårvåg in the municipality of Averøy in Møre og Romsdal.~ Length: 8.27 kilometres. The Atlantic Road is part of the 36 kilometre long National Tourist Route between Bud and Kårvåg.~ construction started 1 August 1983. During construction, the area was hit by twelve hurricanes. The highway opened 7 July 1989.~ 8 bridges totaling a length of 891 metres~ cost 122 million Norwegian kroner = 20.9449424 million Canadian dollars~ 25 percent of the cost was financed with tolls and the rest from public grants. Collection of tolls was scheduled to run for 15 years, but by June 1999 the road was paid off and the toll removed.~ There are four panoramic views and rest areas with facilities in bold architectural forms along the Atlantic Road.~ people can enjoy the view of the Atlantic Ocean, a rich bird life, spotted seals and whales on rare occasions.

Since I first posted “NUDIBRANCHS – SAY WHAT?”, May 14, 2012), I’ve found the time to delve further into these fascinating and exotic ocean creatures. You will be thrilled and amazed with the facts shared on these YouTube videos and the awesome video footage from around the world (Indonesia, Philippines, Bali)

First a few very interesting facts:

Nudibranch ~ means “naked gills”Nudibranchs ~ are sea slugs~ are beautifully colored tiny vessels of danger~ store toxins/stinging cells they steal from their prey~ more than 3,000 species~ range in length from 1/4 inch to over 1 foot~ are hermaphrodites (meaning they have both male and female sex organs)~ are found in oceans from Antarctica to the tropics

I won’t overload you with information, for as they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

This next video is amazing ~ the music, “The Tahiti Trot” is very artistically adapted to the bizarre antics of the nudibranchs ~ an award winner in my opinion!!!

“Colorful nudibranchs in Lembeh Indonesia” ~ uploaded by George Delveroudis on Jul 5, 2010 ~ “… But they are the most colorful creatures on Earth and their body patterns exceed the imagination of the best designers on the planet.”

“Nudebranches of Amed – Bali Reef Divers – Dive Bali” ~ uploaded by balireefdivers on Nov 9, 2010 ~ courtesy of Hero Productions ~ “These nudibranches were seen around Amed and Tulamben this season… wide variety of nudibranchs species around here… Night dives at Jemeluk are also a great opportunity to see these creatures!”

This sneak attack … giving Harper’s Cabinet complete discretion to approve oil pipeline projects regardless of their impact on threatened species or water. But a member of Harper’s own caucus has threatened to vote against it — we can create an unprecedented outcry calling on ConservativeMPs whose districts would be affected by these pipelines to reject the budget.If just one MP breaks ranks, others could follow…

22,000 barrels of oil just leaked into Alberta’s wilderness when a pipeline ruptured,yet Harper’s so-called budget bill would systematically undo the environmental protection laws designed to prevent these spills. If this bill became law, Harper and his cronies would have free reign to snake pipelines across threatened habitats, gut the Fisheries Act, and unleash massive amounts of climate-cooking gases into the world’s atmosphere.

This bill, C-38, would also prevent some seniors from receiving the Old Age Security benefit, make deep cuts to the CBC and toughen requirements for Employment Insurance,all while the government lays off thousands of employees. Harper gave MPs just four days to debate this 400-page bill, despite the massive legislative changes it contains.

The stakes could not be higher— this bill would wreak havoc on Canada’s gorgeous natural environment, could have a devastating impact on a generation of seniors and the unemployed and makes a mockery of our parliamentary process.But with a huge public outcry we can show Conservative MPs that constituents across the country will fight Harper’s misguided budget.